Fulfilling the Needs of eSports Consumers: A Uses and Gratifications Perspective

eSports services are situated between cooperation distinctive for many hedonic activities and competition relevant to the creation of hedonic behavior. This raises the challenge for eSports providers to offer services that fulfill consumers' needs. Against this background, we apply Uses and Gratifications theory (Rayburn and Palmgreen, 1984) and investigate which competitive and hedonic need gratifications drive continuous use of eSports. We conduct ten in-depth expert interviews and a multiple regression analysis based on survey data collected from 360 eSports players. With competition, challenge, and escapism both competitive and hedonic need gratifications drive continuous eSports use.